Football defeated Delray Beach Atlantic, 17-7, to capture their first State Championship in school history (2017)

MaxPreps Tour of Champions honors Football

1/19/2018 8:39:00 AM

ORLANDO, Fla., Jan. 23, 2018 — The Dr. Phillips High School football team has finished No. 69 nationally for the 2017 season. The announcement was made by MaxPreps, the online high school sports leader and a CBSSports.com site.

"Each fall, over sixteen thousand varsity football teams take the field with the dream of winning a state title. Nationwide, the best-of-the-best qualify for recognition on The MaxPreps Tour of Champions. Together, with the Army National Guard, MaxPreps honors the most outstanding teams in the nation for their state championship performance and elite national level ranking,” said Andy Beal, president and founder of MaxPreps.

“Congratulations to the Dr. Phillips Panthers players, coaches and fans for an amazing year and for earning the Army National Guard's national ranking trophy."

Dr. Phillips (13-2) defeated Atlantic of Delray Beach, 17-7, on Dec. 9, 2017 to capture its first Florida 8A state championship since fielding a varsity football team in 1988. Dr. Phillips is one of 50 schools being honored on the MaxPreps Tour of Champions presented by the Army National Guard. Dr. Phillips girls basketball team was honored on the Tour of Champions in 2012 when the team was ranked 19th in the nation.

“It’s a great honor. For me to coach the team and lead them to their first state championship is a dream come true. I’ve been at this school 15 years, but waited my turn. To get to share this experience is amazing,” said Dr. Phillips head football coach Rodney Wells, who completed his seventh season.

“Our kids were resilient,” Wells said of his team. “Every challenge in front of them that was presented by the coaches or their opponents, they faced it. They had a chip on their shoulder after losing to South Ridge in the championship game last year (2016).”

Florida Army National Guard Sergeant First Class Reginald Wilson will Coach Wells and the team with the Army National Guard national ranking trophy Tuesday morning, 1/23, during a lunch assembly at 11:00 am. The team also received a banner for their accomplishment.

"The Army National Guard represents teamwork and a commitment to community and country. Just as your team joins together to defeat adversity and win, the Army National Guard stands vigilant as a team to protect the community and country in which we live," said Master Sergeant Mark Wojciechowski. "On behalf of the Army National Guard, I am privileged to recognize this nationally ranked championship team for their dedication, leadership and teamwork."

MaxPreps Computer Rankings are used to determine team rank for the Tour of Champions. The system utilizes the huge number of game results stored in the MaxPreps database. Generally, the more a team wins the higher the ranking, but the system takes into account quality wins (against other highly ranked opponents), margin of victory, and strength of schedule. Playoff games are weighted 2.1 times a regular season game.

# # #

About MaxPreps.com

MaxPreps.com is America's leading high school sports media brand, offering the most comprehensive high school sports coverage, with the latest news, analysis, rankings, and streaming content. MaxPreps.com aspires to cover every high school team, game, and player by partnering with state high school associations and over 150,000 varsity coaches throughout the country. Founded in August 2002, MaxPreps.com is headquartered in Cameron Park, California and is a unit of CBS Interactive. For more information about MaxPreps.com and for the latest high school sports news, scores, and expert analysis, please visit maxpreps.com

About Army National Guard

Established in 1636, the Army National Guard has a 378-year history of service to our Nation and its communities. In exchange for part-time service, Guard members receive good pay, money for college or vocational school, paid training in one of 200 career fields, low-cost health insurance, advancement opportunities and more. Qualified juniors and seniors can join the Army National Guard while still in high school and complete their initial and advanced training in the summers between school years. The Army National Guard has more than 3,600 locations across all 50 States, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. For more information or to learn how you can join our team, visit www.NATIONALGUARD.com/moneyforcollege.